Canon vs Nikon: Point-and-Shoot Face-Off

2. Nikon Coolpix S1000pj

Two camera giants, two point-and-shoots over $300. Will the projector-equipped S1000pj prevail, or will the "standard" features on the S90 win out?

At a time when all – or almost all – compacts have a 5x optical zoom, a 12 MP sensor, a 2.7-inch or 3-inch display screen, and similar size and cost, it’s getting hard to set yourself apart from the pack. Nikon is taking a long shot – a digital camera with a built-in video projector. It’s an original solution that makes the Coolpix S1000pj unique among the hundred or so cameras released in 2009.

Handling

With its Picasso-style nose in the middle of its face and second eye above, the Nikon S1000pj is instantly recognizable. We’ll let you decide how elegant-looking you think it is, but just about everyone on the team here found it extremely ugly.

The metal body looks sturdy, but the build quality isn’t perfect. The fit of the battery compartment lid, for example, isn’t great – on our test model, it tended to stay closed even when unlatched.

At the rear is a 2.7-inch 230,000 dpi LCD screen, with a highly visible weave and pronounced clouding in shadows. Even worse, since it’s a TN panel-based display, so everything becomes dark – and thus useless – when taking a downward-angled shot. For the rest, the S1000pj is laid out like other Coolpix models. Operation is simple and the interface is clear, if not elegant. The new controls related to the inclusion of the projector (see inset) are located on the upper part of the body.

The remote control that comes with the camera works in projector mode, of course, but also in snapshot mode. So you can use it to control the S1000pj (including the zoom) remotely, which may be an interesting feature for tripod users. However, it’s very plastic-looking construction and mediocre surface finish are disappointing.

Response

T he S1000pj’s responsiveness inspires no particular comment. Start-up is a little quicker than average, and focusing is neither slow nor fast. The delay between shots is a little long (2.5 seconds), and the burst mode is really quite disappointing. It’s slow – barely over one frame per second – and it hangs after the fifth frame.

Image quality

We’ll cut to the chase: If the S1000pj has a weakness, this is it. The lens really lacks evenness, especially at wide-angle, with a fairly good centre but edges that are particularly fuzzy. Purple fringing is very visible at high contrast, even on medium-sized prints. In telephoto, the contrast is never good, even in the center, and the purple fringing is no fainter.

For sensor sensitivity, Nikon isn’t among the best. Purplish zones in darker areas, a chronic weakness of this little 12 MP, already appear at 400 ISO, along with the first evidence of smoothing intended to contain digital noise. From 800 ISO, details are diluted. We’ll be charitable and not even mention the higher values.

Video

Video is not a strong point either. The 640x480 non-HD definition is unexciting, the recorded sound is mediocre, and the optical zoom doesn’t work during recording and the image shows clouding in the shadows. The video performance is no worse than with a lot of compacts, true; but some do much better.

With the S1000pj, Nikon is trying out a new concept: “Your personal theater on the go” – a camera that lets you show your photos and video to your friends. Unfortunately, this doesn't overshadow the fact that the camera is just plain mediocre.